Sooner or later, it was bound to happen anyway. For once, Pepo Rosell and Reyes Ramon of renowned aftermarket company Radical Ducati put their love for the Italian desmo machines aside and turned their attention to a Japanese motorcycle from the 80s, and the result is the awesome bike you can admire in these pictures. The model is called Dirt-Rad and is based on a pretty famous motorcycle, a 1989 Yamaha XT 600.

The original frame was cut, modified and connected to the fork of a FZR600, the engine was re-built with new ported heads and the exhaust system is made of Wolfman ‘2-in-1′ connecting pipes and terminates with a captivating Spark GP megaphone. The Dirt-RAD comes with 18″ wheels with aluminum Akront rims and stainless steal spoke fitted with Pirelli Skorpion tyres, whereas the braking system was lifted from a Ducati S4RS. The fuel tank comes from 1970’s Ducati 250, while the saddle is borrowed from a Pursang Bultaco.

This Dirt-RAD by Radical Ducati uses in-house hand-built mudguards, the front one made in aluminum and the rear one in carbon fibre. Other remarkable features of the model include Hagoon rear shock, Rizoma handlebar, Puch head light and an aluminum road racing chain guard taken from a Ducati 916. The Madrid-based company will soon show off its Dirt-RAD at the second edition of the “Metamorfosis Masiva“, a style contest open to single cylinder bikes only.

View the full Dirt-RAD by Radical Ducati photo gallery

via | Radical Ducati

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This 1970 Ducati ‘Desmo Corsa’ 450 is one of the most exciting vintage motorcycles to ever go under the hammer, and comes from the private collection of Mr. Carlo Saltarelli, a former Ducati tester who later became a Ducati dealer. More precisely, this Ex-Works Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa is a proper historic model which is also a featured bike at the museum and in the Ducati book

There is no doubt that this bike will be one of the most contended pieces at the Monaco RM Auction, which will take place between the 11th and 12th of May in the diminutive European city-state. Since quite a few royalties, dignitaries and motorcycling celebs are expected to be in the audience, we just cannot wait to see them fighting over this awesome piece of art on two wheels.

View the full Ducati Desmo Corsa 450 photo gallery

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The news went a little unnoticed, but the recent 2012 India Auto Expo saw the unveiling of a quite interesting new motorcycle, the Continental GT, by historic brand Royal Enfield. Basically it is the first new motorcycle to come out with a Royal Enfield badge on the tank in over 40 years. The model is a concept cafe racer that recalls the lines of the original ‘British’ Continental GT - a model that was quite popular in Europe in the late 60s - and it also shares the same 500 cc engine with its illustrious ancestor, but it has never been less ‘British’ than this. With the exception of its 500 cc single-cylinder unit, this new Continental GT is their first bike ever to have been completely designed in India, with no parts lifted from the historic English models of the past.

However, Royal Enfield has become a fully-fledged Indian manufacturer by now. In case you missed the last episodes, back in 1949 the ‘old’ Royal Enfield opened a satellite operation in Madras, India, and in 1955 the Indian government chose their 350cc Bullet model as bike of choice for both police and army, making an enormous order for it. The English manufacturer shut doors in 1967, but the Indian plant just became independent and kept on producing the Bullet 350 and 500cc for years and years. And they are still doing it today: Royal Enfield of India now holds the rights on the name and sells several variants of the Bullet - some of which under a different name - in over twenty countries across the globe.

Even though the Continental GT is loyal to the classic old school ‘British’ design, the model represents a huge step forward for the company, the first real attempt at something different than the usual Bullet-based product. Unfortunately, no information has been released yet about production, performance and technical specs of the new Continental GT, but the work done so far by the Indian engineers is actually pretty interesting and worthy of attention. We will be waiting for more news on the subject.

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Among the new bikes introduced at the 2012 Motor Bike Expo in Verona there was also this ‘Sterling 2012′, produced by young Italian manufacturer “The Black Douglas Motorcycle Co.” The design of the model is clearly inspired by the old school - very old - but is equipped with modern day technology that makes it suitable for today’s standards. The frame for instance is loyal to the classic design but is way stiffer, while the trapeziod fork has also been built with modern technology to improve handling.

The Sterling 2012 is powered by a 200 cc single-cylinder 4-stroke engine developing 17 hp, licensed Euro 3, but a 125 cc version is also in the works. The bike weighs only 100 kg (220 pounds), which makes it ok move in the urban traffic with ease, has a 10 litres capacity fuel tank and is as thirsty as a moped. All models will be hand-built and can be customized in accord to the customer’s taste thanks to a large catalogue of optionals that also include a saddle for the passenger, dedicated bags and special color schemes for the tank.

The final version of the Sterling should become available in Europe this coming April with a starting price of 9,900 €, with the manufacturer aiming at a 40-unit production for the first year and twice as much in 2013, when the Sterling 2012 will go global. The first not-Italian market to receive the Sterling will be the UK, where the first 2 models will be shipped to “The Black Douglas” local dealer in the summer. Moreover, an all-electric version of the model will probably surface as well next year. To find out more about this manufacturer, check out its official website.

View the full The Black Douglas Sterling 2012 photo gallery

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And here is the third and final chapter of our photo gallery dedicated to the most impressive custom bikes on display at the 2012 Motor Bike Expo in Verona, Italy. This time we present you with a slew of spiced up Harleys, some intriguing one-off prototype, a bunch of colorful Vespas, some old-school piece and then some. Each one of them seems to ooze passion from every bolt, and if you are into this kind of special motorcycles as well, we are pretty sure that you are going to enjoy this last set of pics as much as we did. By the way, if you have missed the first two episodes, here are the direct links to Part 1 and Part 2.

View th full Custom bikes at the Motor Bike Expo 2012 - Part 3 photo gallery

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A promise is a promise. In the wake of the good response to the first part, here is the second installment of a special photo gallery dedicated the most interesting custom bikes displayed at the 2012 Motor Bike Expo in Verona, photographed on the spot by our friends from Motoblog.it. We got some pretty interesting model here too, but we invite you to get ready for the grand finale: the third and final part of the gallery is already waiting in the wings..

View the full Custom bikes at the Motor Bike Expo 2012 - Part 2 photo gallery

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Verona’s Motor Bike Expo has a reputation in Italy for the astounding number of custom motorcycles, choppers and cafe racers that every year show up at this event, coming from every corner of the world. Many of these bikes have been designed and built by specialists with the specific goal of showing up there and make an impression on all enthusiasts and fellow artists alike. Here is a first lot of pictures of some of these bikes, a first installment of the models that caught the attention of our mates from Motoblog.it. Just looking at them we can feel the passion and dedication that their makers have put in their work, and we obviously have the utmost respect for what they do. Part 2 and part 3 will follow soon.

View the full Custom bikes at the Motor Bike Expo 2012 - Part 1 photo gallery

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Kawasaki was not supposed to show up a the 2012 Motor Bike Expo with any significant new model, but our colleagues from Motoblog.it noticed an intruder at the Kawasaki’s stall in Verona, Italy. No, it is not a new model from the Japanese manufacturer - there’s definitely nothing like that in their current line-up - it is a special guest: it is a Kawasaki W800 turned into a wicked scrambler by Angel, a.k.a. Angel Lussiana, the specialist mostly known for its creations based on Ducati 900SS and Triumph SpeedTriple. The model definitely has that 70s vibe to it, and surely would not go unnoticed with that flat flashy exhaust pipe. We love it.

View the full Special W800 by Angel Lussiana at the 2012 Motor Bike Expo photo gallery

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Australia’s Deus Ex Machina presents the Bald Terrier, a very nice custom bike based on a harmless ‘07 Harley-Davidson Sportster. The original 21″ and 16″ rims have been replaced with 19″ and 18″ wheels respectively, providing the bike with more front-rear balance, while the rear subframe has been cut and reduced in size, a move that required the fitting of a different saddle as well as a new - though diminutive - mudguard. Moreover, the Bald Terrier 1200 gets new brakes, a Power Commander V fuel injection module, black fork sliders, Performance Machine filters, Storz footpegs and Ikon shocks.

However, what really makes the Bald Terrier 1200 more’ muscular’ than the H-D stock bike it is based upon are its modified Yamaha SR400’s fuel tank and unique Vance & Hines 2-into-1 matt black exhaust system. We are quite sure that the lucky owner of this spectacular one-off was pretty pleased with the work done by the guys from Deus Ex Machina: the Bald Terrier 1200 is indeed magnificent.

View Deus-Ex-Machina Bald Terrier pictures

via | Silodrome and BikeExif

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The idea in itself was just crazy: taking Ducati Desmosedici RR’s frightening 197 hp engine and build a dirt track bike around it. Come on, just tearing it off from where it is supposed to stay sounds like blasphemy to most people. Mr.Roland Sands, owner and founder of RSD (Roland Sands Design), knew that only too well, and yet, undeterred, he decided it could be done. Following some well-documented month of development and testing, the outstanding outcome of that crazy idea has finally arrived, and boy it is indeed a stunner: meet the Desmo Tracker by RSD.

As Mr. Sands himself admits, the making of the Desmo Tracker was no piece of cake, and we have to give him some serious credit for coming up with the jaw dropping one-off you can admire on our photo gallery and see in action in the above video. Beside the astonishing 989cc V4 engine (which has an output of 197 hp with 116 Nm of peak torque, redlines at 16,000 rpm and weighs only), the RSD team managed to maintain Desmosedici’s original frame as well, but basically everything else has been built from scratch.

Let’s not forget that the Ducati Demosedici RR completely blew away the motorcycle industry when it debuted in 2008 in as the only true street legal Moto GP race bike available to the general public. We wonder what they think of the Desmo tracker in Borgo Panigale. To find out more about the whole Desmo Tracker project, check out RSD’s official website.

View the full RSD Desmo Tracker photo gallery

via | Roland Sands Design and CycleWorld

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